Chile Chicken Wings

I stacked up recipe after recipe for Wing Week, so many that my final night of wing cooking was plagued with difficult choices of what would make the final cut.

Just when I thought I had the line-up all figured out, I was thrown for a loop when Erin sent me this recipe for chile hot wings from the new cookbook Michael's Genuine Food. I read the ingredient list and was immediately captivated—Thai sweet chile sauce mixed with tahini. The traditionalist in me couldn't fathom what this clash of cultures would taste like. I needed to know.

Schwartz notes "these may resemble traditional Buffalo wings in appearance, but a blend of soy sauce, tahini, ginger, garlic, and Asian chile sauce makes these wings major-killer," and I couldn't agree more. Wings in disguise, you think you're ready for a mouthful of red hot butter, but instead you get a flavor and texture that surprises to much delight.

It's still hard for me to put into words what this tastes like, but the perfect amount of coating holds a sweet spice with the sesame seamlessly joining the party. The recipe also comes with a tzatziki style dipping sauce, but I don't think they really need it.

It's a perfect end to Wing Week, exemplifying just how diverse little pieces of chicken can be. At the same time, they left me a little somber—this was just the tip of the iceberg. Ideas abounded of even more wing varieties just itching for their time in the spotlight, and I'm sure you all have even more that would never even occur to me. Wing Week Part II anyone?

Chile Chicken Wings

About This Recipe

Yield:

4

Active time:

60 minutes

Special equipment:

Blender, 12-inch cast iron skillet

Rated:

Ingredients

For the sauce

1/2 cup sweet chile sauce, such as Mae Ploy

2 tablespoons tahini

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger

2 pounds chicken wings, preferably free-range

1/4 cup cornstartch

1 teaspoon baking powder

Peanut oil, for frying

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro

1 scallion, thinly sliced

Procedures

1

Combine the chile sauce, tahini, vinegar, soy, garlic, and ginger in the jar of a blender and puree until smooth, about 10 seconds. Set the chile sauce aside until ready to use or refrigerate for up to 1 week.

2

Pat chicken wings dry with paper towels. In a shallow dish, combine the cornstarch and baking powder. Working in batches, toss the wings in cornstarch mixture, shaking off any excess cornstarch.

3

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Fill a 12-inch cast iron skillet with 1-inch of peanut oil. Bring the oil to 375 degrees over medium-high heat. Place half of the wings in oil and fry until golden brown on first side, flip and continue to fry until second side is browned, 5-7 minutes per side. Remove wings to a paper towel lined plate, then place in the oven to stay warm. Repeat with the second batch of wings.

4

Place all of the wings in a large bowl. Pour in chile sauce and toss to thoroughly coat. Place wings on a plate, garnish with cilantro and scallion. Serve immediately.

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About the Author

Sharing his love between three beautiful grills and two handsome smokers (oh, and lets not forget a wife and a couple cats), Josh has a passion for grilling and barbecue that seems to grow bigger everyday.

Starting with a bi-weekly backyard barbecue series called The Meatwave in 2004, this pastime quickly became an obsession that turned into a full fledged recipe blog a few years later. He then brought those grillmaster skills to Serious Eats in 2008, delivering the best in grilling recipes every week. Taking the plunge from backyard to pro, he started up a competition team in the spring of 2012 and quickly added the "award-winning" label to his barbecue.

At this point, Josh has slow smoked and eaten so much pork, he's legally recognized as being part swine.